Arunachal schoolgirls march 65 km to highlight teacher shortage

Itanagar: At least 90 students from Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV) at Nangnyo in Pakke Kessang district of Arunachal Pradesh marched around 65 km to highlight the alleged acute shortage of teachers in their institute.

The students, in their blue school uniform, embarked on a foot march from Nyangno village on Sunday, walked the entire night and reached Lemmi, the district headquarters, this morning, an official said.

Video clips of their march at night and in the morning surfaced on social media. Several of the girls were seen in the video carrying umbrellas and backpacks.

PTI could not independently verify the authenticity of the clips.

Led by students of Class 11 and 12, the protestors demanded immediate posting of teachers in Geography and Political Science.

The students held posters reading ‘a school without a teacher (is) just a building’. They also raised slogans in support of their demand.

The protestors claimed that they were left with no option as their repeated pleas for the subject teachers were left unanswered by the school and the higher education department officials.

An official said that the school education department recruited teachers as demanded by the students following the rally.

"The students were protesting the acute shortage of teachers in the school," Pakke Kessang Deputy Director of School Education (DDSE) Deepak Tayeng said.

He said the students did not inform about their march to the hostel warden of the school authorities.

The school’s headmistress admitted there is a shortage of Geography and Political Science teachers, but it has adequate tutors for the remaining subjects.

The courses have already been completed for the half-yearly examinations, she added.

Established in 2011-12, the school is being managed by an NGO, Sei Donyi Charitable Trust, and aims to provide education for girls from disadvantaged communities in educationally backward areas.

The school, at present, has over 90 students and has a headmistress, a warden and at least 13 teachers.

The department is functioning as per norms and contacted the NGO chairman on this issue, said a senior department official.

Last month, the department had engaged two contractual teachers for the smooth functioning of the school, the official claimed.

Speaking about the shortage of teachers, the DDSE admitted that there is a shortage of subject teachers in the school.

Last month, a walk-in interview to recruit three teachers was conducted by the DDSE office, Tayeng said, adding that they are awaiting approval from higher authorities.

The midnight march, which sent shockwaves among parents, authorities and the general public, has yielded results with the authorities saying that the department has approved the recruitment of teachers.

The DDSE said that the department has approved the appointment of a Geography and Political Science teacher after the midnight shocker.

Tayeng said the officials explained the situation to the girls, who were doing fine even after completing such a long journey on foot. The students were sent back to their school in two vehicles arranged by the department, he said.